Global Education Digest 2012 - International Reading Association

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SECTION 5 THE COSTS OF SCHOOL FAILURE WHAT’S IN THIS SECTION? Based on the analysis presented in earlier sections, this section aims to identify the factors that underlie repetition, early school leaving and learning achievement before presenting the different types of policy measures required to address the needs of the most disadvantaged children. The economic dimension is also highlighted in order to stress the need for more efficient use of existing resources. Solutions that focus on early interventions – which are designed to remedy learning gaps before they accumulate and costs rise – are at the heart of this section. KEY FACTS •• Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are faced with high rates of repetition and early school leaving. This is also the case for several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and in East Asia and the Pacific. •• Repetition can account for two to three years of school life expectancy rates in Burundi and Togo, and almost one year or more in a range of other countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Timor-Leste and Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Asia and the Pacific region, in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in the Arab States, and in Uruguay in Latin America and the Caribbean. •• If resources spent on repeating a grade were instead spent on enrolling new entrants into school, annual GDP in countries like Burundi, Madagascar and Malawi could grow potentially by 1.3%, 0.7% and 0.6% respectively. •• Policies that focus on prevention or prioritise interventions before learning gaps accumulate can be the most cost-effective. •• In middle- or high-income countries, primary school classes have fewer than 30 pupils, and in a majority of them there are fewer than 20 pupils per class. Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa, the average class size in public primary schools ranges from 26 pupils in Cape Verde to 84 in the Central African Republic. In four out of ten countries reporting data, there are on average 50 or more pupils per class. Repetition is a policy implemented by teachers and school administrators, sometimes with the permission of parents. Early school leaving is more likely a choice, made by pupils and their families in response to a process rather than an event, which may also be precipitated by teachers, headmasters, education systems and a range of external factors. Thus, repetition policy is more readily amenable to changes in the provision of education, whereas policies related to early school leaving are linked to the supply of education and the demand for it. In terms of resource use, the costs of repetition often remain hidden, largely because a rising number of children in the education system and individual classrooms often leads to the downgrading of education quality. Equally hidden are the considerable individual and social costs associated with early school leaving – which are recognised but often difficult to quantify. Despite this important distinction, both phenomena are associated with unsatisfactory progress and incomplete learning. This section reviews the links between repetition and early school leaving before measuring the costs of grade repetition policies. It concludes by identifying a few important areas in terms of policies aimed at reducing grade repetition and dropout rates. 5.1 LINKS BETWEEN REPETITION, EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING AND INADEQUATE LEARNING OUTCOMES The factors underlying repetition, early school leaving and learning achievement are related. While further evidence in longitudinal research is needed, existing research suggests that children who start late and/or repeat grades are more likely to leave school early. 52
OPPORTUNITIES LOST: THE IMPACT OF GRADE REPETITION AND EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING Figure 23 shows that high rates of repetition and early school leaving are found in many of the same countries. The majority of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, although several countries are in Latin America and the Caribbean (e.g. Guatemala and Nicaragua) and in East Asia and the Pacific (e.g. Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu). There are also countries with low rates of repetition but high dropout rates, like Ethiopia and Liberia. As with grade repetition, there are many reasons why children leave school early but, as profiles in earlier sections of this report show, children, households and communities that face multiple disadvantages are particularly at risk. However, the relationship between repetition and dropout rates is not clearly defined, which may be partly due to difficulties in accurately measuring these phenomena, especially in developing countries. For example, repetition rates of around 23% are associated with dropout rates of 30% in the Congo, 41% in Togo, 54% in the Central African Republic and 72% in Chad. The reverse is noted in other countries, where high dropout rates in the range of 45% are found in countries such as Zambia, which has a repetition rate of 6% or Cambodia (11%), Malawi (20%) and Burundi (36%). FIGURE 23 Are rates of grade repetition and early school leaving related? Repetition and dropout rates in primary education in selected countries, 2009 Arab States East Asia and the Pacific Latin America and the Caribbean South and West Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Other regions 80 World average: 6.3 70 Uganda Angola Chad Madagascar Rwanda Dropout rate to last grade of primary education (%) 60 50 40 30 20 Liberia Ethiopia Zambia Senegal Pakistan Niger Mauritania Ghana St Kitts/Nevis Myanmar Honduras Philippines Indonesia Paraguay Nigeria Tanzania Djibouti C. African Rep. Nicaragua Malawi Cambodia DR Congo Togo Côte d’Ivoire Nepal Equatorial Guinea Burkina Faso Guatemala Guinea Cameroon Laos Timor-Leste Bangladesh Sao Tome/Principe Eritrea Lesotho Congo Vanuatu Mali Namibia Burundi World average: 17.4 Columbia El Salvador Cape Verde Swaziland 10 0 Trinidad/Tobago Suriname Belize Morocco Lebanon Botswana Aruba Iran Syrian Arab Rep. Tunisia Algeria Mauritius China, Macao 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Repetition rate in primary education (%) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics database. 53
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Global education diGest 2012 INSTIT
Page 3 and 4: GLOBAL EDUCATION DIGEST 2012 Opport
Page 5 and 6: FOREWORD Each year the UNESCO Insti
Page 7 and 8: CONTENTS Foreword 3 Acknowledgement
Page 9: OPPORTUNITIES LOST: THE IMPACT OF G
Page 12 and 13: SECTION 1 / Policy design and imple
Page 20 and 21: SECTION 2 / Learning achievement: D
Page 34 and 35: SECTION 3 EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING: LOS
Page 36 and 37: SECTION 3 / Early school leaving: L
Page 48 and 49: SECTION 4 / Monitoring education qu
Page 56 and 57: SECTION 5 / The costs of school fai
Page 62 and 63: REFERENCES Belfield, Clive (2008).
Page 64 and 65: A N N E X A4 DEFINITIONS Adjusted n
Page 66 and 67: DEFINITIONS Educational institution
Page 68 and 69: DEFINITIONS Social science, busines
Page 70 and 71: DEFINITIONS Net flow ratio of mobil
Page 72 and 73: DEFINITIONS Part-time students. Stu
Page 74 and 75: A N N E X B INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
Page 76 and 77: A N N E X C REGIONS ARAB STATES (20
Page 78 and 79: A N N E X D ELECTRONIC RESOURCES UI
Page 80 and 81: READER’S GUIDE ii) UOE survey UNE
Page 82 and 83: READER’S GUIDE Population issues:
Page 84 and 85: A N N E X F STATISTICAL TABLES The
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Global Education Digest 2012 - International Reading Association

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